For Want of a Nail
by Sarcasticles
Summary: In one reality, fate drove together nine powerful dreamers together under one flag. In this reality, it didn't.
**AN:** I've had an idea in the back of my mind for an epic AU universe where the premise is that a single change in the backstory of each of the Straw Hats prevents them from joining Luffy's crew. These so-called "nails" would ultimately cause huge changes within the OP-verse and drastically change Luffy's journey to becoming the Pirate King.

The original project would require at least one full-length fic for each of the Straw Hats, and that's something I have neither the time nor the energy to pursue. Still, it's fun to think about, and maybe someday I'll be able to explore them even more. Until then, here's my take at the "for want of a nail" genre.

* * *

 _Fifty-five Years Before Luffy Sets Sail_

In one reality, after serving in the battle convey of a certain kingdom, Brook joined the Rumbar Pirates in hopes of finding adventure. He sailed the West Blue and later the Grand Line before dying and coming back to life, eventually serving as the musician to the Second Pirate King.

But in _this_ reality, Brook's career took a very different turn.

"Are you sure about it, partner?" Yorki asked, looking over his beer to the man beside him. "I think you'd like it. The only thing I ask in my crew is that you love music, and you certainly fit that bill."

"Yohoho, I'm flattered, truly I am, but you see…" A dreamy look entered Brook's eyes as he strummed a chord on his guitar. After spending years playing mostly the violin and piano, he found this new instrument to be a novel challenge, and after months of practice was getting quite good. "I'm going to be a rock star."

"A rock star?" Yorki laughed. "What, you mean like that band out across the pond in the East Blue? The…oh, what are they called… the Crickets?"

"Yes!" Brook exclaimed. "I'm going to share my music on a global scale, Mr. Yorki. With all these pirates coming out of the woodwork, we need something to bring the people together. Nothing does that better than music."

"Yeah, but a _rock star_? That seems kind of…out there, you know? Any specific reason why?"

"Panties," Brook said firmly.

"Excuse me?"

"I read in an article today that sometimes at some of the Cricket's concerts fans throw their panties onto the stage," Brook explained.

A slow grin spread across Yorki's face. "Is that so? So you're going to be a rock star because you're secretly a perv?"

"And for the music," Brook said defensively.

"But mostly for the panties." Yorki laughed again and finished the last of his beer before slapping Brook on the back. "Well, I'll be sure to follow your success in the papers. Maybe I'll come to one of your shows someday. I hear having a pirate's endorsement can really boost a band's popularity."

"And maybe I'll write a song about your adventures," Brook agreed. "I can hear it now, _The Ballad of Calico Yorki_."

"I like the sound of that," Yorki said. He stood, and the two men shook hands before parting ways. But despite their fervent promises to the contrary, the two strangers-turned-friends never saw each other again.

* * *

 _Twenty Years Before Luffy Sets Sail_

' _Answer the question!'_

The man in the black suit pounded his fist against the table, and her remaining self-control crumbled. The young girl began to cry as she tried to cover her face with her heavily bandaged arms, wishing that the doctors hadn't cut off all her hair so that she could have another layer of protection against the hateful men who for some reason wanted to know about Ohara.

She wasn't even supposed to be _alive_ , and had only survived the Buster Call because her mother shielded her from the worst of the cannon fire. At the last minute she had returned the embrace, and had almost gotten her arms blown off for her trouble. The explosion had rendered her completely deaf, only adding to her terror as the men in black tried to communicate with slate and chalk.

"I-I d-don't even know what we did wrong!" she wailed. In a fit of fury the man struck her across the face, splitting her lip. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth as the man agitatedly wrote.

' _You've already admitted your connection to the Demons of Ohara. Tell us what you know!'_

This last sentence was punctuated so hard that the man's chalk snapped in two. He reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and wrenched out a crumpled bounty. She could only stare in shock when she saw the picture, and the very large number printed underneath the words _Wanted: Dead or Alive_.

In one reality Nico Robin was the sole survivor of the Ohara massacre. But in this reality…

"T-that's my cousin," Nico Mizuira whispered, looking up at the man with wide, frightened eyes. The man settled back into his chair, a satisfied smirk spreading across his features.

… _she wasn't._

* * *

 _Ten Years Before Luffy Sets Sail_

Koshiro knelt in front of his daughter's grave. He supposed he ought to feel grief or anger or sadness—anything other than the consuming emptiness that occupied the spot where his heart once had been. Kuina, his only child, his beloved little girl, was dead, and it was all his fault.

"You were warned." Koshiro didn't bother to turn around to face the Government agent. If they wanted to kill him, so be it. It was the fate he deserved.

"She had nothing to do with this," Koshiro said, his voice hollow. "She was ten years old."

"Old enough to be aware she was sharing a house with a sympathist. Don't think the Government is unaware of your dealings with the Revolutionary Army."

"And so far you've done nothing to change my opinion."

There was a tense silence. Koshiro waited for the killing blow to come, but it never did. It seemed like the World Government still had need for his skills after all.

"The boy with the green hair…he lives here, doesn't he? I've seen him fight. Such untapped potential, it would be a shame if anything were to happen to him before it was realized."

Koshiro stiffened. "He's just a boy."

"Old enough to be held accountable for the crime of assisting the Revolution."

Tears streaked down the dojo master's face, unaware that his star pupil was hiding within earshot, listening to every word.

"I'll do what you want. Just don't hurt him. I…I don't think I could live with myself if he were dragged into this, too."

Zoro stifled a gasp. In one reality Kuina died in a tragic but ultimately random accident. In this reality, Kuina didn't fall down a flight of stairs.

She was pushed.

* * *

 _Nine Years Before Luffy Sets Sail_

Sanji held one of his wasted hands up to the light. All of his muscle mass was gone, and when he flexed his fingers he could see every bone and tendon. Off in the distance a clock struck three times. The doctors would be coming with his feeding soon. He wondered how much he'd be allowed to eat, and if it would be enough to satisfy the roaring monster in his stomach.

Guilt flushed through him, and he had to clench his eyes closed to keep from crying. Crying took energy he didn't have, and though the doctors no longer acted as if they thought he would drop dead at any moment, it would be many months before he was fully recovered.

"Shitty old man," Sanji whispered, his voice a dry croak. "This is all your fault. If you had just eaten some of the damn food…"

His voice trailed off to nothing. If Zeff had eaten some of the food Sanji probably wouldn't have survived. He barely made it off that damn rock as it was, and by the end of it he'd been willing to murder the one who ensured his survival.

The memory played again, and Sanji squeezed his eyes tighter. It didn't help. Day and night he was plagued with the same vision over and over again. In his starved state, he went to take some of the food that the old man selfishly hoarded for himself. He would walk across no man's land, desperate and half-crazed with hunger. But Zeff's bag held only treasure, and the shitty geezer…the shitty geezer was…

Sanji bit back a sob, unable to stop the tears as they streamed down his face. In one reality, Red Leg Zeff was able to survive more than eighty days without food. In this reality, he died without uttering one word of complaint, leaving Sanji to find him still sitting upright as if he was continuing his vigil even in the afterlife.

Looking back at all the death and misery that followed him wherever he went, Sanji wondered if maybe he wasn't a true Vinsmoke after all.

* * *

 _Eight Years Before Luffy Sets Sail_

Early morning fog was just settling over the island made of scrap. A junior agent only recently promoted to CP-5 shivered at the eerie sight before him, wondering how in the world he'd been given what he deemed to be the worst assignment in Cipher Pol history.

"This place gives me the creeps," he whined to his partner. "I don't know what's got the Director's panties in such a twist. Everybody knows this is a wild goose chase. Let's just say we couldn't find anything and go back to the office."

In one reality, this advice would have been heeded. But in this reality, Spandam had the foresight (or luck) to pick an agent made of sturdier stuff. He shook his head, sharp eyes gazing across the desolate horizon.

"No. Based on the local currents, if he's going to be anywhere, it's here. We've been given a job, and we're going to do our due diligence."

"The guy threw himself in front of the sea train!" the first exclaimed. "He's _dead_!"

"Then it's our job to find the body. Now quit dawdling and get searching."

Searching the junkyard with only two men was slow, tedious work. Over time the fog thickened, and it began to drizzle. Wet and chilled to the bone, the agents took shelter in a makeshift alcove made out of metal detritus.

"This is stupid," the first muttered darkly, punctuating his umbrage by kicking a wall made out of corrugated tin.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!" he said quickly.

"No, not you, that noise," the senior agent said. "That wall, it was hollow."

Quick examination revealed a trap door, and after sharing a significant look the two agents descended down through an uneven tunnel. It opened into a vast underground warehouse. Tools of every variety competed for space with heaps of old machinery, as if the junkyard from above had somehow seeped below ground. They were silent for a moment as their eyes adjusted to the darkness, before the young agent swore.

"Is that…is that blood?"

An agonized gasp came from the center of the warehouse. Against their better judgement, the two agents investigated, and this time it was the older man's turn to utter a strangled oath.

"He's alive."

The criminal Cutty Flam—the boy known in some circles as Franky—took another tortured gasp of air. He was surrounded by bloody instruments and bits of scrap metal. Through ingenuity and sheer force of will, he was still breathing, having managed to augment his fail human body with cybernetics.

But no matter how close to death he was, a criminal was still a criminal, and despite his best efforts, Franky was now in the custody of the World Government.

* * *

 _Six Years Before Luffy Sets Sail_

Nami left Cocoyashi for the first time when she was twelve years old. She was gone for two months and came back in the dead of night. Nojiko knew this, because she was woken up by the sound of her sister collapsing in the middle of the living room floor.

" _Nami?_ " Nojiko gasped, rushing to her prone figure.

"Hey, sis," Nami said weakly. "How ya been?"

"You're hurt," Nojiko said, touching a soiled bandage wrapped around her arm. Seeing Nami's glazed eyes, Nojiko touched her forehead with the back of her hand. "And running a fever. I'll get the doctor."

"No!" Nami grabbed Nojiko's wrist with desperate strength. "Not yet. Need to…need to hide it first."

"Hide _what_? Nami, you're not making sense."

"M' bag," Nami mumbled. "Hide it with the rest."

Confused and scared about what she would find, Nojiko opened the bag by her sister's side. It was full to bulging with money, more than Nojiko had seen before in her life, and the sight almost made her throw up.

"Where did you get this?" Nojiko whispered.

"Doesn't matter. Just hide it. Please. You're the only one I trust."

Nojiko looked at the money, then back at her sister. Nami needed a doctor, and wouldn't accept treatment until it was taken care of. "Dammit," Nojiko said, running outside where she knew Nami kept her treasure. She dug up a simple wooden box and dumped the bag in as quickly as she could.

It was still pitifully empty. Nami could spend a lifetime trying to fill the thrice-cursed box and never succeed.

"Damn it," Nojiko repeated quietly, a feeling of hopelessness washing over her. Nami had burdened herself with an impossible task, and she was going to kill herself trying to accomplish it. And for what? It wasn't as if Arlong would ever let them go free.

In one reality, Nojiko waited for ten years as Nami painstakingly raised one hundred million berries. But in this reality, on the night she came face to face with what her sister was trying to do, something within her shifted.

Nami couldn't keep going on like this. She didn't know how and she didn't know when, but Nojiko _would_ find a way to save her sister, or she would die in the attempt. As Nojiko closed the lid and buried the money under her mother's tangerine trees she came to a decision. She wouldn't let her sister carry this burden alone.

* * *

 _Five Years Before Luffy Sets Sail_

The pirates never came, but the funeral did.

Usopp sat alone in his too empty, too quiet house. His mother was dead. His neighbors and friends offered their condolences, some going so far as to make sure he had enough food to eat, but even if they were saddened by Banchina's passing, their lives did not come to a screeching halt because of it.

For years he'd given his mother hope, telling her wild stories that made her laugh, trying to be the best son he could be—as if her survival somehow depended on his good behavior. It was all in vain, because despite his efforts his mother was still dead and he was still alone, and no matter how hard he tried, Usopp didn't think he was strong enough or brave enough to go on.

If only his father were here, maybe things would be different. Maybe he would have been able to take care of his wife in a way his son couldn't, and she'd still be alive. Even if he couldn't, he could still offer Usopp the comfort he so desperately needed.

The small part of his brain that was still able to think logically understood. Yasopp was a pirate, thousands of miles away on the Grand Line. Even if he could have been reached, there was no way for him to get back in time.

The illogical part of him, the part that consumed Usopp as he wept bitterly into a pillow, hated his father for abandoning them. All his life Usopp loved Yasopp, and thought that he was loved in return. But if Yasopp loved his family, why did he leave them? Why wasn't he with them in their time of need?

In one reality, Usopp looked up to his father as a hero and role model. In this reality, the death of his mother left him bitter and disillusioned with the pirate's life. When he finally went out to sea it was not to learn the true meaning of bravery, but to search for an answers he wasn't sure existed.

* * *

 _Six Months Before Luffy Sets Sail_

Black snow fell on the country of Drum, and Chopper watched helplessly as his home was engulfed in flames. Priceless medical research, rare drugs, and top of the line equipment…gone, forever. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It was the same everywhere on the island. After the king and his top retainers fled, the nation had fallen to the mercy of a pirate crew led by a man who went by the name of Blackbeard. The devastation they wrought in their wake was terrifying, going against everything Dr. Hiliruk had taught the young reindeer about pirates, and he didn't understand how people could take joy while causing such misery.

"Zha ha ha!" The booming laughter cut Chopper to the core, and he fought against the urge to hide himself behind Doctorine. Standing in front of the ruins of Kureha's home was a large man drinking a bottle of plum wine.

"Hey, brat, didn't your mother ever tell you it's not polite to take things that don't belong to you," Doctorine said, her tone steady even as she glared daggers into the man.

"Wise advice from an old woman," the man agreed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He grinned, revealing a mouth full of missing teeth.

"Who are you calling old?" Doctorine asked, her voice dangerously calm. One hand reached to the hidden pocket in her pants where Chopper knew she kept several scalpels. "And why are you still here? You've got what you came after. Drum has nothing left to offer you."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I've heard some interesting rumors about, Dr. Kureha, and you're at the center of them."

The rapport of a gunshot came from somewhere within the forest, and before Chopper knew what was going on Doctorine collapsed on the ground, her blood dying the white snow a deep carmine. Chopper screamed, transforming into his full human form with no regard for secrecy or his personal safety. As he put pressure on the shoulder wound, more men and one extremely sickly looking horse immerged from the forest.

"Is it a yeti?" a burly man with purple hair asked as the pirates formed a loose circle around the two doctors.

"R-run, you fool!" Kureha gasped. She managed to right herself long enough to throw a knife at the one holding a rifle.

"No! I lost Doctor, I can't lose you too!" Panic and hatred for the men who dared hurt Dr. Kureaha gripped at the young reindeer's heart, threatening to tear him in two. Doctorine was in no condition to flee, and Chopper refused to leave her to the mercy of these pirates. Assured that she was in not in immediate danger of dying, Chopper reached into his pocket and grabbed a small yellow pill.

"Rumble!" he screamed, before launching himself at the man who had shot his beloved mentor.

The battle was short and brutal. In one reality, the Blackbeard Pirates never caught wind of the experimental drug that pushed Devil Fruit abilities to their very limit. But in this reality, Marshal D. Teach was willing to do anything and everything to become stronger.

Even if that meant murdering the best doctor in the world to test the true ability of the Rumble Ball.

"Hmm, you wouldn't think something so monstrous could exist in something so little," Laffitte said conversationally as he picked up an unconscious Chopper by the scruff of the neck.

"A reindeer with the mind of a human? Fate has been cruel." Doc Q coughed.

"Get…get him on the raft," Blackbeard panted, slumping to the ground in exhaustion. What little remained of Drum had been destroyed in the battle between his crew and rampaging zoan user. "And let's go before the marines come lookin' to see what's caused all the ruckus."

"Or Fire Fist," Augur said.

"Or Fire Fist," Teach agreed. "Don't think I could take him right now."

And so the Blackbeard Pirates fled the ruined country of Drum posthaste, with Tony Tony Chopper in their tow.

* * *

 _The Day Luffy Sets Sail_

"Ten people sounds like a good number for a crew," Luffy mused to himself as he leaned back in his little fishing vessel. The sun warmed his skin, and the salty breeze threatened to take his hat off of his head.

"Yeah, ten. I like that." An unnaturally large smile spread across his face as he remained blissfully unaware that he was about to sail straight into a giant whirlpool. His journey to become the King of the Pirates had just begun, and he was determined to enjoy every minute of it.

In one reality, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brook would all eventually join his crew. Some said that fate drove these Straw Hats together and raised them to greatness. After all, what were the odds of so many powerful dreamers gathering together under the same flag?

Or maybe it was just coincidence, because in this reality none of those people joined Luffy on his journey. The smallest ripples lead to the biggest waves, and this time around the Straw Hat Pirates looked very different indeed. Only time would tell if this new batch of dreamers would be able to help Luffy fulfill his ambition.


End file.
